Ethan Czata talks more about his experience winning gold at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, after impressive win against the Barrie Colts on Thursday night.
Ethan Czata — Niagara IceDogs 5th overall pick in 2023 — was chosen to represent Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Canada White won gold against the United States in the final, in a thrilling overtime win.
"Oh it was surreal really, as a little kid you always dream about that, and it was unbelievable," said Czata about representing Canada on the international stage.
Czata had a flashy primary assist on the first goal of the game in the final. The overtime against the United States was high intensity, to say the least.
"Well it was a little bit stressful, but I knew my team, I knew that we were going to pull it off," said Czata.
The creative centre had four assists in the tournament, and had one of the better performances among OHL players. Czata's high pace game and quick playmaking ability allows him to attack in a variety of ways offensively. He reads passing lanes at a high level and creates chances for his teammates.
On Thursday night, Niagara was able to grab a significant win against the Barrie Colts. Czata looked increasingly confident coming off of the U17's, and his team was able to step-up in a 5-2 win. The IceDogs dominated a lot of this game offensively, and Owen Flores was stellar in the crease. Defender Daniil Sobolev came up with a huge block at the end of the game as well.
"I thought it was a great step into our journey [this season], I think this is a new group that is going to improve [throughout the year] and become a way better team," said Czata.